Monday 29 October 2007

End of October - the closing of Nature's year

This little wooded walk is one of Swindon's best kept secrets, known to people who follow their feet, perhaps walking their dogs, it runs parallel with Marlborough Road and feels as though it is a continuation of the wooded part of the Lawns. It probably has a name but I'm afraid I don't know what it is - I prefer to just think of it as a 'nook and cranny' of Hidden Swindon.

The end of October marks the Festival of Samhain. The close of the Nature's old year of growth, the harvest gathered in, fruit, berries and nuts preserved for the winter months. Nature's autumn majesty in gold and russset gives way to to a sense of stillness. A time of quiet reflection and of making haste from the chilly darkness to the warmth and safety of home. Nowhere is this sense of stillness more apparent than when walking silently in a little wood where the only sound is that of the fallen leaves underfoot.